Are houses without good school catchment very hard to sell despite the general frenzy?

[CatAndHisKit]

When I was buying my house the description mentioned that it was in a catchment of outstanding school - I didn't need schoold but it was one of the points that swayed me towards it as I knew I'd be selling in about 5yrs. I was also attarcted by its size (4 lrge bedrooms plus office and a child's bedroom), halls adjoining semi so 'nearly' detached, good size garden. I had no dount that it will grow in value.

Well I'm selling it now and guess what - it turns out that agents made a mistake and I@m on the wrong side of the street for the catchment! What aer the chances that one srteet os divided like that! As a result I had a nightmare as it's too large for an older / young couple, and for a family schoold matter, so it's attarcted several BTL investors late last year who let me down - not to mention all trued low offers.

I've stuck around with one who has been persistent but we still haevn't exchanged since his offer last year and yet more discount from me last month - he's playing around with mortgages (supposed to be cash buyer initially). Been nriefly on the market end of March when he stalled but no one turned up quickly - someone did but changedtheir mind, then te existing buyer maed a ew moves that appeared like progress.
I've just seen a house of similar size sold on my street (though has three loos rather than two like mine, and a small extension downstairs but my loft conversion is bigger, it's also modern but hideous decor - just newer than mine) - it's on the right side for the catchment and the price is 43K more than what I've agreed to sell! I don't know what it actually sold for, it may be over even but I'm sure not much lolwer than askingn as it was sold in a couple of weeks.

I'm now thinking do I have any chance selling mine for 10-15K more than the price to my horrid buyer if I go on now, as that's still 30K less than the house opposite? Or is it that you are just doomed if no school catchment? By the way neither house has off street parking - but parking on street is easy enough as it's one way. Am I being a complete mug selling so low - but I now need someone super fast as a buyer. There is a very good primary here but it's faith (Catholic).

P.S. I'm not in a 'hot' area but nor is it very bad (large town, good connections and getting some funds invested now, Midlands)

So sorry for the readful typing - shouldn't stay up so late!

dreadful

It would put me off tbh - when I buy a house I always think about resale factors ever since I bought one many years ago that proved difficult to sell.

Plus with 4 bedrooms, it is the family market you will be targeting.

Have you definitely checked the school admissions info? Round here the catchment is just based on the number of applicants that year (high applicants = small catchment and vice versa) EA might be talking rubbish (are the investors ones that the EA has connections with etc..... ) Worth checking yourself.

If the catchment is correct, you may get someone eventually who wants a bigger house but not for the schools - family with older children but they come back from uni or people who need an/2 office/s and like to have relatives to stay or want hobby rooms etc. But you'd have to wait for the right person and in the mean time it looks like your house is struggling to sell.

If you need someone quickly, you'll probably have to sell lower than you though, I'm afraid.

We would definitely buy in a poor catchment area as we would not want to pay inflated school catchment prices, we are way past the stage in life of worrying about schools and would not be looking to move again

@Cocoaone

Have you definitely checked the school admissions info? Round here the catchment is just based on the number of applicants that year (high applicants = small catchment and vice versa) EA might be talking rubbish (are the investors ones that the EA has connections with etc..... ) Worth checking yourself.

If the catchment is correct, you may get someone eventually who wants a bigger house but not for the schools - family with older children but they come back from uni or people who need an/2 office/s and like to have relatives to stay or want hobby rooms etc. But you'd have to wait for the right person and in the mean time it looks like your house is struggling to sell.

If you need someone quickly, you'll probably have to sell lower than you though, I'm afraid.

Exactly this - the schools near us don’t have set “catchments”, the distances change every year depending on applications but you’ll see the term catchment used in lots of ads when really there are no guarantees. I have a lot of friends applying for school places this year and don’t know anyone with actual catchments. You’ll be able to see the schools admissions policy online or just call them up.

Also some people will live somewhere small close to their chosen school, get places and then move out a bit to get more size and most schools allow siblings to keep attending the school initially offered even if you move. So I would think your house would still work for families since it’s still close to that school.

People who know their stuff about education / schools tend to prioritise houses in ‘Needs Improvement areas’ where the last Ofsted review was done a while ago because trusts / LAs rarely let them stay at that level and they tend to move up to Good fairly quickly.

But no you won’t be able to charge the same as an o/s area

Also I wonder if your house being off and on the market is giving the impression that there is something wrong with it or that you are a difficult buyer? And also I wonder if the other house selling on your road could actually help you, was there another buyer that missed out say?

As previous posters have said, very few schools have set catchment areas. The last admitted distance from the school can vary every year, especially if say a new estate is built that increases the school population.

Honestly, I would say the lack of parking is the issue more than the school. You only have to look on MN at the parking threads to see complaints about multi-car owning families!

Hope you find the right buyer for your house ASAP OP It is a stressful business!

Thank you all! Nice to just hear any helpful advice / experience when the agent is as fed up as I am and friends heard it all already.

Interesting that catchments can be flexible - I tried looking at ther website but it wasn't clear - siblings were mentioned but that's it. Maybe I should actually phone the school! But one couple who viweed previoiusaly did they they weredisappointed it's not in catchment so they probabyl had checked. Agent described as the right catchment when selling to me and when selling for me - they've since removed it.

Yes parking is a pain of an issue but house opposite has no off street either - it's a wide one way street so really not bad, but I know.

Lightasabreeze but would yo ubuy a 'family size' house with 4+ beds? It's not huge, a semi, but seen as too big for a couple.
Cocoaone yes I was hoping for that - couple with older kids or hobbies but and't been lucky with any of those back when we had many viewings. There aws a similar woman but they didn't like that its not a big open plan layout and needed expense to change that - it's an Edwardian house, all rooms good size with high ceilings but t's not open plan.

I definitely do not expect the same price as with definite catchment, Ozanj - it was on 40K morethan mine (may have been over when sold) but I'd be happy with 20K difference, even 10K.

Chic thank you - I will still give the buyer a chance but he's been an utter s**t - only yesterday we insisted he speaks to his bank and gets time frame info and tells the agent , he said he will - do you think we've heard from him today? Ha!

Yes, Twiglet - never again! I thought it was in catchment, what a mistake for an agent to make.

sorry I meant 'even 30K difference', Ozanj

@CatAndHisKit

See if they have an admission policy. It should be in there. If there is no specific mention or roads/postcodes, then there is no specific catchment. In which case the agent shouldn't be listing any house as 'in catchment'

What they could do is include the phrase 'close to good/outstanding school/s' which your house would fall under.

Is it a primary or secondary catchment?

Is your area naice enough that potential buyers would be using private schools?

Where I am, there is a big premium for houses in catchment for the popular schools so a common ‘hack’ is to be in a small house within catchment until the oldest child gets a place, then move a bit further away to a bigger house, safe in the knowledge that the younger siblings will get automatic places under the sibling priority policy

I'm one of those parents who is currently looking at houses specifically for school catchment areas. It's true that in many areas, the catchment isn't set in stone, and lots of children get in from outside it. However, that's a gamble and the distance changes year to year - especially in a year of lots of siblings or if a new housing development gets built nearby etc. That can change everything. Catchment areas also shift, so it's possible that when you bought the house it was in catchment and now it's not. Or the EA could have made a mistake, but I wouldn't trust them anyway- the info is publicly available ... you should be able to just Google it. Worth checking now just in case?

I would consider buying a house outside of the catchment for either of the two schools I'm interesting in sending my boys to, but only if it was a substantially better/cheaper house. Hopefully someone will buy it who doesn't bother to check catchment areas or doesn't care at all (no kids, or at private school, or not fussed about school etc).

I wouldn't have thought it would be too much of an issue. It doesn't matter if you aren't in the catchment once the kids have already started at the school.

You’re not necessarily out of the catchment if you consider buyers whose children already have a school place. It’s quite common here to move out of catchment as the family grows, because once child 1 is in school the rest are guaranteed a space in the sibling policy.

Same as above posters, the catchments round here change every year. You should be able to find the admissions stats on your local county council website (here it includes the stats of applicants and number of children in each entry category and also the maximum distance from the school).

Sory ofthis wasn't clear, but the current catchment ends at the other side of my street (agent checked this year when someone raised it at viewings, and I also haev looked myself since).
What I meant re admissions page was that siblings are mentioned but not how flexible they are with catchment - I might phone to check that.
Also it's encouraging to know that a family who already got into the school can move out a bit further in same area and still retain places.

There is of course an issue of stamp holidays finishing in Sept - I trhink a private buyer is unlikely to haev enough time to buy (unless cash). Im just trying to decide frantically whether to go back on the market ASAP or still be danged by the current buyer who is supposedly getting a mortgage - he's obviously started a new deal instead of adjusting his initial mortgage offer on my house. Argh!
I'm ujst tempted seeing that house opposite has sold within a few weeks.

If in the market for a four or five bed house, I would be put off by it being a semi rather than by which catchment area it is in.

Schools change so quickly that good catchments can change completely in a decade.

@Ozanj

People who know their stuff about education / schools tend to prioritise houses in ‘Needs Improvement areas’ where the last Ofsted review was done a while ago because trusts / LAs rarely let them stay at that level and they tend to move up to Good fairly quickly.

I wouldn't bet on that.

We would buy a bigger house as we have lots of stuff, we also need room for a caravan and camper van, we would want non estate though and wouldn't want to pay over the odds for a good school.

Another factor to consider is if you are on the boundary of catchment areas whether you might be in a black hole for schools. It does depend on how over stretched the area is for places in general but sometimes even those in catchment don't get a place, depending on the area so being on a catchment boundary might be worse than being near to the less desirable school. It also depends on the structure of the boundary, if the school is nearer to your side then children might still get in if distance is a tiebreaker for out of catchment children, but if the school is on the otherside they might rarely get a place. This is assuming you are in England.

Essentially though a primary school catchment (assuming it is primary) will probably only affect people for about 5-7 years until youngest is in school.